Video: The Lucra LC470 Provides 630 Horsepower in a 2,000 Pound Car

We admit, invigorating a small, lightweight sports car with a powerful V8 is nothing new. It’s been just over 50 years since Carroll Shelby first dropped a Ford 289 under the hood of the British AC Ace, and although there have been plenty of other big-engine-small-car projects in that time, not many have been as ferocious as this Lucra LC470.

Even as a boy, Richards was building cars from 1:8 scale RC models.

For those of you unfamiliar with Lucra, we ran a small piece on the car and the company last summer, and the reaction we received was pretty immense. Now, our friends over at Motor Trend have just filmed a video interviewing the company founder, Luke Richards, and have documented the development and production process of the car.

Richards, who credits his father with instilling him with the gearhead gene when he was just a child, also describes his creation in his own words. He grew up in England, where small, lightweight sports cars are king. As his father had told him as a child, “You can either have a small car that’s quick through the corners, or a powerful V8 musclecar that’s quick in the straights – but you can’t have both.”

Needless to say, Luke set out to prove his dad wrong by combining the two. The result is what you’re looking at on this page. It features the European sports car profile in shape, but the attitude of our beloved LS-powered musclecars. Imagine a car that weighs 2,000 pounds and has a 630 horse LS7 nestled between the front wheels, and you’ll get an idea how quick this car is.